the battle against cancer cells. using hiv to do it. and it's good to be beyonce. as the diva signs a monster $50 million deal. good morning, everyone. we begin with the extreme storms raking over a big section of the country, from the dakotas to the southeast. >> as many as 13 twisters touched down yesterday, like this one in florida. and it came on the heels of the record snowstorm that created a slick mess across the upper midwest. here's tahman bradley. >> reporter: monster storms wreaked havoc in the upper midwest and parts of the south. in the northern plains, residents are digging out after a record snowstorm. >> we just moved to the area a few months ago from southern california.

so, it's a bit of a shock. >> reporter: this morning, most of minnesota is buried in white, after the state got its monthly snowfall total in one day. in minneapolis/st. paul cars were a heavy casualty. some were buried. others like these found along emergency routes were towed. >> we were going to move our car in the morning. and it was gone. >> reporter: the snow made driving conditions miserable. state police reported hundreds of car crashes. across wisconsin, plows were out in heavy force. but the season's first snowfall was a welcome sight. >> it's definitely got everybody excited. >> reporter: winter was mild last year in parts of the midwest. so, businesses like towing companies and hardware stores gladly went to work. >> nice to see some snow. nice to see winter here. gets business back. >> reporter: across the south, a different weather threat. severe storms spawned tornadoes. officials confirmed one in southern louisiana. in the town of baker, strong winds tore the roof off a car wash, littering streets with debris. >> it was real scary. everything was just flying around, just tossed around.

>> reporter: in edgewater, florida, about 30 mobile homes were no match for a heavy twister. >> i was at work. and i took a phone call from my husband. and he said, it's not good. you need to come home, now. >> reporter: the storms moved into alabama, northern georgia and southern tennessee, where meteorologists say winds up to 70 miles per hour and more tornados are a threat. tahman bradley, abc news. >> you heard it there, the threat not over yet. we'll check today's forecast coming up in just a moment. protesters rallying against michigan's right to work legislation are expected to have their biggest demonstration yet at the state capitol today. the measure would bar unions from requiring non-union workers to pay union fees. president obama criticized the legislation, saying it's about giving workers the right to work for less money. the republican governor is backing the proposal. but democrats met with him yesterday to urge a veto. protests are also expected in egypt today. the military in position near

cairo's presidential palace, keeping an eye on opponents of president mohamed morsi. they, along with morsi supporters, are both staging massive marches today, ahead of saturday's vote, on a draft constitution. that referendum and morsi's power grab in the last month, set off the worst violence since last year's revolution. also, breaking news this morning from south africa. we learned that former president nelson mandela is suffering from a recuring lung infection. doctors say the 94-year-old leader is responding to dreemt. mandela has been in the hospital since saturday. and until now, his medical condition had not been made public. a new intelligence report is offering bold predictions about where the world is heading by 2030. that's just 17 years away. the national intelligence counsel expects china will become the world's biggest economic power. but the u.s. remains the dominant military superpower and will become energy independent

overall. we can expect to have 8.3 billion people on the planet. as for more immediate concerns, the fiscal cliff is one day closer, with a stalemate over heading off huge tax increases and deep spending cuts at the start of the new year. president obama and house speaker john boehner are keeping tight-lipped about those talks. in michigan on monday, the president warned going over the fiscal cliff will cost jobs and send the country in a downward spiral. colorado is now the second state after washington in which marijuana is now legal. that became the law yesterday, when the governor put a voter-approved amendment into the state's constitution. the implementation of the law will be worked out by a special task force. in a statement, the u.s. attorney noted that pot remains illegal, though, under federal law. well, family and friends are remembering that navy s.e.a.l. who gave his life to rescue an american doctor in afghanistan. abc's senior foreign affairs

correspondent martha raddatz has more on the life of this fallen warrior. >> reporter: nicolas checque was just 28 years old. but for much of the last decade he had been a navy s.e.a.l. the last five years, part of the elite s.e.a.l. team six. in iraq, afghanistan, wherever he was needed, checque carried out dangerous missions. just like the one that took his life on sunday. it was just before 3:00 a.m. when checque and his team, along with afghan commandos, loaded into helicopters and headed in the darkness to a remote mountaintop location in eastern afghanistan. down below, taliban fighters were holding dilip joseph, a relief worker and father of four from colorado, kidnapped leaving a rural medical clinic just days before. the hard-charging, highly trained s.e.a.l. team moved in quickly, to a group of huts where joseph was being held. gunfire broke out. joseph was rescued. but the young navy s.e.a.l. took a bullet to the head.

the decision to go in so quickly was made by the top commander in afghanistan, general john allen, who thought joseph was in immediate danger. the former hostage, dilip joseph, will likely return to the u.s. by this weekend. his family issued a statement extending their deepest condolences and gratitude to all those involved in the mission. martha raddatz, abc news, washington. it's time, now, for weather from across the nation. those severe storms we mentioned are a threat again today, across central florida, with wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour. there will be showers along the southeast coast. seattle will see rain most of the day. mostly dry, however, in the northeast. >> temperatures in the northern plains bounce back from those single digits. minneapolis is in the mid-30s. denver warms up to almost 60. pleasant in the southwest, with phoenix at 69. honolulu and miami are tied for the hot spot, as always, both today at 82 degrees. >> we can always dream. when we come back, problems

for a couple of the biggest names on the internet. then, also this morning, fresh fallout for those two deejays who pulled off the prank call that turned tragic when kate middleton was in the hospital. and how's this for protective padding? bubble soccer. it's all coming up in "the pulse." >> safety first. d@ñ

welcome back, everyone. and there are some major deals in the works this morning. overnight, hsbc confirmed a record $1.9 billion settlement with the u.s. in return, the british-based banking company won't be charged with money laundering.

a criminal prosecution of europe's largest bank might destablize the global system. that closes the books on the biggest bailout. the government's 16% stake is worth almost $8 billion. >> made a profit off of that deal. thanks to the surge in online shopping, shipping services expecting a record-setting year. a record number of packages are in the fedex pipeline after its busiest shipping day ever. abc news got a special look inside its global hub in the city of memphis. by yesterday afternoon, more than 19 million packages had been shipped. 10% more than the busiest day last year. business is up. >> mind-boggling. facebook and gmail seem to be all right this morning. but both services had brief outages. some users had problems with google calendar and documents

for about an hour. there's no word from google about the cause. facebook said it changed a web address. that outage lasted 20 long minutes. and pepsi's latest global partner is my girlfriend, beyonce. beside her appearance at the pepsi halftime show at the super bowl, the singer will appear on everything from soda cans, to commercials, to cardboard cutouts in stores. the deal is thought to be worth 50 million bucks. a lot of that is the time and space for the ads. can't wait to take a long sip of that. >> i'm proud of you for getting through that without sweating and stammering and stuttering. >> indeed. when we come back, doctors using the aids virus to held. the fight against cancer. and one little girl, she is living proof. and a big monday night for tom brady. the patriots hand houston a texas-sized defeat. this family used capital one venture miles

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now, for a look at your morning road conditions on this tuesday. a rain/snow mix could make travel pretty messy in upstate new york and new england. the roads are a little wet around seattle and portland. and there will be some showers along the southeast coast. >> and it is a good day to fly. only one airport expects delays. and that is miami. and back to the news this morning. fans of latin singer jenni rivera gathered at her old california neighborhood last night to remember the superstar. >> about 100 people took part in a candlelight memorial outside the home where rivera's father still lives. known as the diva of the banda, rivera was killed in a weekend plane crash, while flying from one concert to another. she was admired, not just for her talent, but the way she lived her life.

>> she was a personality. she was a businesswoman. she was beginning to cross over into the english language market. >> officials in mexico say it could be a week or more before they have a preliminary cause of the crash, which also took the lives of six others. there is new fallout over that prank phone call at kate middleton's hospital. the two australian deejays who pulled the stunt had their show canceled. the deejays say they're shattered by the apparent suicide of the nurse who took the call and are also apologizing and asking for some forgiveness. they have been receiving death threats and demands they be fired. for now, the two are simply suspended. here in new york, police are searching for a brazen killer who gunned down a man, excuse-style, on a crowded street near central park in broad daylight. the victim had been identified as 34-year-old brandon woodard, a los angeles man who was staying in a nearby hotel.

the killer shot him in the back of the head, leaving him to die in the street, as he got into the passenger seat of a waiting car. and accused florida shooter george zimmerman is due back in court this morning. his attorneys are asking the judge to remove the gps monitor so he could travel freely throughout the state. zimmerman has stayed largely out of public view after being charged with second-degree murder in the shooting of trayvon martin. in medical news, new hope for cancer patients. and believe it or not, all thanks to the aids virus. researchers at the university of pennsylvania have come up with a groundbreaking experimental treatment, using a genetically altered hiv virus to destroy cancer cells. 7-year-old emma whitehead was dying of leukemia just eight months ago. she is now totally cancer-free after undergoing the treatment. the results of other patients, though, have been mixed, from complete remission to no improvement at all. >> amazing to see her progress, though. former nfl commissioner paul tagliabue is expected to rule today on the latest round of

appeals stemming from the bounty program run by the new orleans saints. four current or former saints are facing suspensions. but any punishment being announced today will be delayed for a week, that's so a judge in new orleans can rule on motions by the players, one, including to throw out any suspensions. week 14 in of the nfl in the books. it was an impressive final game. at least for one team. highlights from espn. >> good morning. i'm hakem dermish with your "sportscenter" update. tom brady and the patriots taking the texans to school. new england, has now won 13-straight games in december. here's how it wept down. patriots' first drive. brady, finding aaron hernandez. patriots up 7-0. tom brady said, quote, this game is hugely important to our season. texans trying to answer. matt schaub looking for walter. picked off by devin mccourty. his fourth interception of the season.

the patriots "d" lead the nfc in takeaways. ensuing pats possession. brady, finds brandon lloyd. might want to play some defense. brady putting on a clinic. new england up 13-0. third drive of the game for new england. brady recognized no one's covering hernandez. quick out. touchdown. see it again here. hernandez yelling, brady, i'm hope, give it to me. i'll get in. patriots up 21-0. fourth quarter we go. patriots up 28-7. brady, to danny woodhead. check out j.j. watts. phenomenal player. tracks him down, punches it out. then, it's lloyd, johnny on the spot. falls on it for the touchdown. brady, four touchdowns in the game. patriots win 42-14. improving to 10-3. they've now won seven in a row. that's your "sportscenter" update. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. if those were the highlights, let's call this the low-lights.

it comes to us from sunday's appalachian state men's basketball game against western carolina. >> you have to feel sorry for app state's brian okam. this is being called the worst free throw ever taken. straight up in the air. nowhere remotely close to the rim. >> brian has been successful on two of his five foul shots this season. but that is pretty bad. wow. up next, everybody, "the pulse." and paula has a new superstar friend. we have the picture and the restraining order to prove it. and then, a guy who will probably have a lot of new friends because he's suddenly $192 million richer. result of overactive nerves ghe that cause chronic widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain.

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♪ money get away ♪ welcome back, everybody. time to check "the pulse," this morning starting with an end to anonymity. matthew good has been identified as the winner of the arizona record powerball jackpot. he tried to keep his fortune a secret. but that didn't last too long. >> the 37-year-old is not worried about quitting his job. he says that now. he is taking a lump sum payment of $192 million. he was worried about the fiscal cliff. i don't think it's going to matter. >> not at all. hugh jackman is having a big december. there's his movie that opens christmas day. but the excitement does not stop there. look at this. the highlight of hugh's month, he got to meet paula. >> i think it's the other way around. i stalked him. my friend and i, bethany murdoch, ran into him at a richard marx concert sunday

night in new york. just part of his big weekend. there's a restraining order. i have something around my ankle right now, to track me at all times. >> court-ordered bracelet. very nice. >> he was also a vocal smackdown singing for "les mis" with his movie co-star, russell crowe. take a listen. ♪ >> he does it all, doesn't he? >> he's got some pipes. >> man. i don't know what i find more stunning. that you met hugh jackman, or that richard marx is still performing. >> he's still got it. if you can't bend it like beckham, you might want to try bouncing it a little bit. >> watch this bizarre soccer match in norway. it's called bubble football. and the players are almost completely encased in plastic,

except for the legs. >> despite all of the rocking and rolling and bumping around on the field, the team somehow managed to score a few goals, believe it or not. >> it's full-contact. but -- that actually looks fun. can you pop the bubbles like bubble wrap? is that the goal? >> i understand the safety thing. but that looks weird. you go, kids. safety first. for some of you, now, your local news, next. at quicken loans, we'll provide you with myql mobile. this amazingly useful app allows you to take pictures of your mortgage documents using an iphone or android smart phone... so you can easily send them to us. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ooh, la-la! one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. introducing nook hd - the world's best 7" tablet made for reading and entertainment. your favorite magazines and catalogs look better than ever.

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. uc berkeley stirs up new controversy with a scholarship fund for undocumented students. new questions over whether an aging pilot or troubled plane may have been behind the

crash. tracking rain and cooler weather i'll tell you when. sunny and warm in the southwest. showers along the southeast coast. finally from us today, helping a hero who's moving on with his life. he is 1 of the more than 200,000 troops retiring from the military this year. >> now, he's getting some help from a hollywood heavyweight. bob woodruff reports as part of our new series, "standing up for heroes." >> reporter: 32-year-old gabriel posey, a staff sergeant in the army, just returned from the sands of afghanistan. but now, here in los angeles, he's about to get a huge surprise. what he knows is that he's been matched up with a mentor to help him get a start in the field he dreamed about much of his life. screen writing. what he doesn't know is that his mentor is one of the biggest names in hollywood. >> your brothers were killed in combat. >> great thing about so many people in the military is, man,

they are really good at solving problems. those people are worth their weight in precious metals. >> reporter: what would be the number one thing you would tell to gabriel about getting into the film industry? >> okay. you have got to say, i know who i am. i know what my skills are. and i'm in this for -- i'm in this for the long haul. perseverance. it all comes down to that. >> reporter: i told gabriel that his mentor wasn't really well-known. just someone with connections. i lied. i'm going to show you who this is. i think you'll be very happy to see who it is. >> oh. wow. no way. i love tom hanks. >> gabriel, how are you? what a pleasure. tom hanks. you have to call me tom. >> reporter: with a pot of tea, this sergeant got a chance to learn from this actor, writer, producer and more. >> have you ever tasted failure while writing, and how do you deal with it? >> oh, yeah.

you are going to write things that no one is going to get, no one is going to understand. and you cannot let that get in your way whatsoever. >> reporter: now, gabriel is making plans to move to hollywood, to stay in touch with his mentor and hopefully to fulfill his lifelong dream. bob woodruff, abc news, los angeles. >> i'm in the right place. i tell you that much. >> not a bad mentor to have. one of the best. >> "standing up for our heroes." what a great series. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." >> stay with us for "good morning america." thanks for wat captioned by closed captioning services, inc. good tuesday morning i'm kristen sze. i'm eric thomas. it is chilly out there. there's rain headed our way. good news is, you only have to deal with the chilly weather this morning. good morning. there's patchy fog around santa rosa and a